The way we see the world is strongly conditioned by how we expect it to be â or, at least, thatâs the argument in some quarters. Which calls into question how the average person would react if their world turned out to be something quite different to what it had seemed previously.

Our civilization needs a lot of power to survive. And if our descendants eventually spread throughout the Galaxy, their energy requirements will dwarf anything we need today. Every possible source will need to be considered, and they will almost certainly turn their attention to those concentrations of matter and energy where the gravitational field is so strong that spacetime is completely curved back on itself and nothing, not even light, can escape â black holes.

With thousands of pictures taken of landmarks a day, snap happy Brits can create their own unique photograph using the SPAC3 app using symbol of the mission the âThird Paradiseâ, created by Michelangelo Pistoletto.

On Monday 13th November 2017, sixty years to the day since 1957 when Skylark sounding rocket SL04 became the first British rocket to reach space, the Science Museum in London celebrated by opening a small exhibition exploring the story behind this remarkable achievement.

Now more than 21 billion km from Earth, for the first time in 37 years Voyager 1 has fired up its back-up attitude control thrusters to test the possibility of realigning its antenna and extending the time its signals can be picked up on Earth by up to three years.

The future of humanity in space is inevitably linked with the colonization of other planets, in our Solar System or beyond. Unless our descendants are to live permanently in spacecraft, of whatever dimensions may be feasible with their advanced technology, surfaces of other worlds are our only likely homes in the centuries to come. Which raises questions as to what those surfaces may be like.

The centenary of Sir Arthur C Clarkeâs birth is an appropriate time to reflect on the enormous impact which his work has had not only on the world of science fiction, but also on the wider scope of space exploration. We devote the latest issue of Odyssey, which has just been issued, to this subject.